Tag Archives: Roxana Saberi

Recent days have witnessed an outreach towards Iran by President Obama and reciprocal feelings from President Ahmadinejad of a willingness to engage in friendly discussions. However, in the midst of an apparent relaxation of anger and bitterness, the Iranian government arrested a woman who carries dual American and Iranian citizenship. Roxana Saberi has been a reporter for BBC, Public Radio and other media outlets but allowed her press credentials to expire a few months ago. In most civilized nations, she might have been deported at worse or given new credentials. But, in Iran, the solution was to arrest her on charges of being engaged in espionage and she is now in prison.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for her release, but Iranian hard-liners prefer digging in order to prove she is some sort of spy. Exactly, what she was spying about is unclear other than she was a reporter who discussed issues in Iran. Isn’t it about time that Iran grew up and became a nation which respects the rights of individuals and ceases to provoke problems over nothing. After all, America just got rid of its version of a troublemaker.